Tenby United 32 pts. New Dock Stars nil
Tenby United, sponsored by Chevron Texaco, who sponsored the game and hosted club members and invited guests to a superb pre-match lunch at nearby Heywood Mount, got their promotion show back on the road in emphatic style at Heywood Lane on Saturday with a six-try demolition of bottom-placed New Dock Stars. The visitors arrived in confident mood on the back of their first win of the season against a sluggish Pembroke side and amid rumours of fresh players and a far different side from the one taken apart earlier in the season by Tenby, who recorded a comfortable 27-0 victory. Kicking off with a slight crosswind against them, the visitors started in confident mood and succeeded in tying Tenby down deep in their half for the opening few minutes of the game, and fears rose that all the talk about new blood was in fact, true and Tenby were in for a hard afternoon. They even exerted pressure at the set-piece, causing Sam Smith to knock the ball on as he attempted to pick the ball up from the base of a retreating scrum. The knock-on was picked-up by a Tenby player in front of Sam and the penalty awarded was pulled wide of the target by Clark Jones, the influential play-maker, who had orchestrated the win against Pembroke. Treating this near miss as a wake-up call, Tenby immediately went on the attack and a wayward kick by the visitors was well fielded by fullback Tom Dennis, who set-off on one of his usual and effective up-field curving runs. Linking-up with the supporting Sam Smith, keen to repay his teammates for the earlier knock-on, he did the necessary and a well-timed pass to wing Will Crockford saw him scamper over the line for the first score of the afternoon. Mark Stevens, a late call-up for the absent Tom Lewis, dragged the conversion wide. This opening score seemed to give Tenby the encouragement needed to attack at every opportunity, while the visitors seemed to retreat into their shell by missing tackles and aimlessly kicking away hard won possession. Another long range run saw Alex Jenkins link with Rhys Thomas, who in turn transferred the ball to Mark Stevens and he gained another huge chunk of ground for Tenby as New Dock Stars were again put on the defensive. In addition to their rather hesitant style of play, the visitors had also started to give away a string of silly penalties and frustration was also beginning to creep into their play. Despite all this self-inflicted pressure, the visitors managed to keep Tenby at bay and the score at 5 -0, although they did go close when another long- range sortie by the impressive Tom Dennis was only thwarted when he knocked on when attempting to transfer the ball to the supporting Harry Bolton. The Tenby persistence was eventually repaid when a tremendous move involving Tom Dennis and Harry Bolton ended with Bolton stopped just short of the line, but skilfully holding the ball and popping it up to Rhys Thomas, who trotted over the line unopposed to increase the lead to 10-0. Tenby were now playing the game at a pace the visitors struggled to match and probing runs by both centres, Gavin Brace and Arthur M-M, stretched the visitors to the full, and it was obvious that it would only be a matter of time before try number three would trouble the scoreboard. Main focus of the attacks was fullback Tom Dennis, as the visitors failed to heed the damage caused earlier by the rampaging number 15 and continually fired-off long kicks which allowed him to field and set off in the direction of the try line. It came as no surprise as Dennis crossed for the third try when slick handling by the threes ended with wing Will Crockford slipping the final scoring pass to Dennis as he cruised up on the outside. Talk behind the posts as a dispirited New Dock Stars stood and saw Stevens's conversion just fall short of the target was pride and of playing for the jersey - they had obviously accepted defeat and were targeting keeping the score to respectable proportions. The half ended with half-backs Thomas and Stevens combining well to release Crockford, who ghosted past the remains of the visiting defence to score try number four. The talk at half-time was all about keeping up the pressure and pace and putting supporting players in the clear, as it was evident that New Dock Stars were struggling to stay with the rampant Tenby outfit. To emphasise the point, a series of would-be tacklers were simply brushed aside as burly number eight Sam Smith seemed to run straight through half the side to score close enough to the posts to allow Stevens to be successful with the conversion, which saw Tenby stretch the lead to 27-0. When New Dock Stars did exert any pressure, the Tenby defence regrouped and kept them out, although it must be said that everything they did seemed to be carried out in slow motion and lacking any structure and never really tested the defence to the full. Their sole attacking ploy seemed to be limited to the ball carrier running at the nearest Tenby defender and running over or through him. If they did manage to break the first attempt, a fellow player would come to the rescue and bring-off a move stopping tackle. The resolute Tenby defence, however, was in for a more testing time as flanker Wyndham Williams was yellow-carded for slowing the ball down at a ruck and invited to spend 10 minutes on the side by referee Thomas. If they were going to score, the scene was now set for New Dock Stars to cross the Tenby line, but try as they might, their lack of inventive play or quick ball transfer saw the red and black defensive line stay intact, with Rhys Thomas, Gavin Brace, Arthur M-M, Emyr Hughes and Ed Ayres putting in some sterling work. Coach Davies was so confident, that he took off hard-working winger Harry Bolton and brought on youth player Dan Colley for his first taste of senior rugby. In addition to this, he also brought on evergreen flanker Nicky Allen as a replacement for Wyndham Williams when his 10-minute spell was over. Back-up to 15 players, Tenby switched play to the New Dock Stars end of the field with a series of bizarre fly-kicks that had the visitors in trouble, and, from the ensuing lineout, won by Ifan Davies, scrum-half Thomas skipped through a stationary visitors' defence. New Dock Stars were now out on their feet and despite locking out a retreating scrum, number eight Smith managed to pick-up the ball and link with Rhys Thomas. Swift ball transfer involving Emyr Hughes and Arthur M-M ended with newcomer Colley dropping the ball with only thin air standing in his way - welcome to senior rugby Dan. Coach Davies rang the changes as time was rapidly running out, with Richard Rossiter replacing Emyr Hughes and Mark Brace coming on for Geoff Martin, as the visitors desperately regrouped to stop any more tries. The game ended with one or two more sorties on the visitors' try line, with referee Thomas blowing for time and Tenby trooping off well pleased with their performance. Tenby showed why they are the meanest team in the league by keeping New Dock Stars to nil and, at the same time, maintaining their record as having the lowest points against tally - a defensive record that will no doubt be tested to the full when they take on Narberth in the semi-final of the cup away on Thursday, March 15. The game was sponsored by Chevron Texaco and ball sponsors were Freddie Broomhead, Mike Rossiter and the TURFC 2nd XV, to whom TURFC extend their thanks. Tenby fielded: Tom Dennis, Harry Bolton (Dan Colley), Arthur M-M, Gavin Brace, Will Crockford, Mark Stevens, Rhys Thomas, Geoff Martin (Mark Brace), Ed Ayres, Ben Cray, Alex Jenkins, Ifan Davies, Wyndham Williams (Nicky Allen), Sam Smith, Emyr Hughes (Richard Rossiter).